“Do you even know what Ms. means?”

Women and leadership — once we get into a position of power, it’s good for everyone. But it’s hard to get there isn’t it, because we have to change our cultural training to fit in. “If you want to lead at the highest levels, you have to be comfortable with power and money,” this blogger writes. Are you? Where are you still uncomfortable? Where have you broken through your discomfort and found your power?

On a recent conference call to discuss the advancement of women, one of the attendees said to me,

“I’ve seen your posts and you seem to care about women’s issues. But do you even know what Ms. means? Do you know the history of feminism?”

Now, the person commenting is not someone I know, so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe my focus on the call – which was strategic planning, not activism – gave the impression that I was not a feminist. Or that despite growing up in the 1970s, I had somehow missed what Gloria Steinem was up to. Or that my progression through the corporate hierarchy was somehow immune from the issues of bias toward women or difficulties in balancing work and family.

Do I think that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men? That’s the Merriam-Webster definition of…